08/23/2005
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The President of this South American country, Alfredo Placido, after four days
of popular protest in the Amazonian provinces of Orellana and Sucumbíos, which
has caused a fall in production of petroleum, has chosen to use hard line politics.
Legitimate demands. So it’s iron fists, but the strike doesn’t stop. The majority of the population
in the Amazonian region continue to protest, supported by the local and regional
authorities. Since Monday road construction workers have demonstrated to reclaim
their work, in infrastructure and jobs promised to them by central government.
In order to make themselves heard they have decided to block streets, airports
and occupy Petroecudar factory plants which is paralysing production.
Turbulent past. Therefore, it’s a country that is in serious crisis, that has just swallowed an attempted coup
d’etat by Gutierrez. The consequential change of the one steering the helm and
the fact that it has just lost its Minister of the Economy, that was looking to
invest money gained from the sale of petroleum into the social system, yet, instead
went to paying off foreign debts. A choice that cost them the help of the World
Bank, in that a request for a further loan from Ecuador was responded to with
a flat No, the World Bank being somewhat concerned about the destination of the
money. Therefore, no freedom of movement for Ecuador. A State constricted by the
rules of a game played by the Giants and led by the interests of a few.
A tale of ordinary desperation. And its right in the country of the Stars and Stripes that 120 emigrants were
going in a five person fishing boat that was shipwrecked on Tuesday, and, discovered
by the Colombian Navy. The shipwreck happened in seas between the Ecuadorian coast
of Esmeraldas and the Colombian coast of Nariño. The only survivors were two women
and seven men. The rest are missing.
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Eight days of General Strike and in Ecuador it’s a State of Emergency
The President of this South American country, Alfredo Placido, after four days
of popular protest in the Amazonian provinces of Orellana and Sucumbíos, which
has caused a fall in production of petroleum, has chosen to use hard line politics.
It’s a State of Emergency. With an urgent decree he has imposed a “zone of security” dispatching the army
and imposing extremely hard measures, which have undermined the foundations of
freedom and democracy. “Preventative censorship of means of social communication
at work in the area,” suspending rights of opinion and expression, free right
to enter into peoples’ homes and to read correspondence, preventing free movement
and of associating and gathering for political means. In short, soldiers and police
are able through any means to re-establish order and stop groups that are interested
in creating chaos.
Legitimate demands. So it’s iron fists, but the strike doesn’t stop. The majority of the population
in the Amazonian region continue to protest, supported by the local and regional
authorities. Since Monday road construction workers have demonstrated to reclaim
their work, in infrastructure and jobs promised to them by central government.
In order to make themselves heard they have decided to block streets, airports
and occupy Petroecudar factory plants which is paralysing production.Petroleum stalemate. “From 201,000 barrels we have fallen to 29,400,” explained a spokesperson for
the company. “If the situation remains this critical,” added the Energy Minister, Iván
Rodríguez, “tomorrow we will only have 20,000 barrels, exactly 10% of our normal
production.” It’s this that Palacio doesn’t accept, he’s showing his muscle and
in order to justify this his government states that, up until this point, it has,
apparently, made appeals for dialogue in order to resolve this social unrest.
Turbulent past. Therefore, it’s a country that is in serious crisis, that has just swallowed an attempted coup
d’etat by Gutierrez. The consequential change of the one steering the helm and
the fact that it has just lost its Minister of the Economy, that was looking to
invest money gained from the sale of petroleum into the social system, yet, instead
went to paying off foreign debts. A choice that cost them the help of the World
Bank, in that a request for a further loan from Ecuador was responded to with
a flat No, the World Bank being somewhat concerned about the destination of the
money. Therefore, no freedom of movement for Ecuador. A State constricted by the
rules of a game played by the Giants and led by the interests of a few.Towards the El Dorado of the North. So much so that Ecuadorians are forced to fight every day against hunger, unemployment,
poverty and sickness. Such as it is the number of them that have made decisions
to leave has risen, risking their lives, to get to the El Dorado of the North. In the United States alone there are at least 1 million 200 thousand
Ecuadorians, of which 50% are without correct documents, and it’s calculated that
in Ecuador there are around 12 million people, the situation is, therefore, very
serious. Since the financial crisis of 1999, when a number of credit institutions
collapsed, emigration has continued to rise and recent events haven’t eased the
situation. The main destinations are Spain, Italy and, notably, the United States.
A tale of ordinary desperation. And its right in the country of the Stars and Stripes that 120 emigrants were
going in a five person fishing boat that was shipwrecked on Tuesday, and, discovered
by the Colombian Navy. The shipwreck happened in seas between the Ecuadorian coast
of Esmeraldas and the Colombian coast of Nariño. The only survivors were two women
and seven men. The rest are missing. This was just another one of the many desperate journeys towards hope onboard
the so-called “coyote”. The trip, that costs between $8 to $12 thousand dollars,
first it goes to countries in Central America, from where the journey continues
by foot towards Mexico. A never ending Odyssey, that can last for days and days,
if it doesn’t end in tragedy, such as a bloodbath during the dangerous “climb”
over the heavily surveyed wall that keeps them out from the USA.
Stella Spinelli
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